Is curly hair professional?

So far all the jobs I've had offers for were ones where I had my hair straight. I have an interview tomorrow, for which I decided to wear it straight but if all goes I intend on wearing it curly thereafter. Do you straighten your hair for interviews? If not how do you usually style it?

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I absolutely believe curly/wavy hair is professional. Sadly, certain (closed minded) people/environments stigmatize and discourage it. For my last interview (and now current job) for a conservative professional office, I wore my natural hair up in a loose yet polished low bun. I wear my hair down now almost every day at work and I've never been told anything negative about it. I just always make sure it looks neat if I do (refresh any odd spots/apply something on them). If I don't, then I do a bun or some other pretty hairstyle (braid, half up, etc) to hide any frizz/mishaps. One of my bosses (a woman), who is very well respected litigator in my city and represents a number of banks, wears her naturally curly hair to the office and to court.

I always go to interviews with my hair straight. If I get the job then I will start wearing it natural after about a week or 2. I, personally, think curly hair can be professional, but there are others who don't. I've had only 1 person complain about my hair at work. He was one of the tenants at the office suites. He got upset with me over something stupid & complained to my boss. My boss asked me if I could brush my hair before I came into work. I had to laugh. I told him he did not want to see my natural hair brushed. I'm now self-employed, so I don't have to worry about it.

From Michael Berg:

Every person has a unique connection to the Creator that can never be extinguished, and every person has a great soul that can manifest important things in our world. To make a person feel less than they are because of something inside themselves, be it faith, race, or sexual orientation, is the greatest sin of all."

I wear it back and usually straighten the top a little so its manageable, the pony tail is curly. I have long curly hair so it can be distracting when its all down. I wear it down sometimes at work after I've been there for a little while but usually end up pulling it back loosely off and on since it's in the way. If I had short hair, I would leave it down and curly. Maybe at the start of my career I would straighten if I had shorter hair(when I had less experience to back me up). Unfortunately people view straight hair as more professional and looks matter.

Have you ever noticed that most of the local female newscasters have the same hairstyle? I wonder if it is in their contract.

From Michael Berg:

Every person has a unique connection to the Creator that can never be extinguished, and every person has a great soul that can manifest important things in our world. To make a person feel less than they are because of something inside themselves, be it faith, race, or sexual orientation, is the greatest sin of all."

Have you ever noticed that most of the local female newscasters have the same hairstyle? I wonder if it is in their contract.

Of course lol. And most women in positions of power have really short hair. Long hair is not completely professional in the traditional sense either. This also applies to men. Luckily I work in IT so we don't have to be as strict and i'm also just a lowly worker, no management status.

What do you think of Megan Kelly's haircut? That also was done most likely to attain a certain look.

I have never had a job in my life, but personally, I wouldn't straighten my hair for interviews. If a company thinks that curly hair is unprofessional/something to hide, I would not want to work there. Maybe that's naive of me because when I'm an adult, having a job is obviously going to be more important than having healthy hair. But for now....I wouldn't straighten my hair just for a job.

No, but what men do w/ their hair is not relevant to us. Besides, with the length that most of them keep it - you can't really tell how curly it is because it's kept so short. Same can be said for curly-haired women with very, very short hair.

Anyway, back to the original question: it depends on the job and who you work for. Working for Nordstrom? They don't care if your hair is curly. I work there and have seen curly hair, bright red hair, purple hair, women with full sleeve tattoos, etc. Investment manager for Goldman Sachs? The perception of curly hair may be different in that climate.

If you are self-employed, more power to you (for A LOT of reasons other than hair perception)

I was actually a little torn on this at my last interview. I have a friend who worked in HR for Coke and she said to leave my hair down but from everything I know and a few people I talked to, I definitely put it back. I look better with hair down but don't think it helps with what I work in.

Guys don't have to focus so much on their looks as we do and worry if they look too sexy/professional/etc or this or that to do the job, but that's a privilege they have, nothing I can do about that now lol. Until the culture changes, this is what we have to deal with.

Well that was my point. And the culture won't change until we start holding businesses to it. But I guess it was too much of a digression.

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No it's not, good point. I think it will start changing once more women get into these positions and do the hiring or so many women are there to change the culture so men or other people don't think we're strange. First we have to get in and yes you have conform to the dominating culture to do so. My brother couldn't handle it and actually left corporate culture for this reason.

Well that was my point. And the culture won't change until we start holding businesses to it. But I guess it was too much of a digression.

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No it's not, good point. I think it will start changing once more women get into these positions and do the hiring or so many women are there to change the culture so men or other people don't think we're strange. First we have to get in and yes you have conform to the dominating culture to do so.

All the more reason why my fiance and I are working towards owning our own business. God knows how long it'll take for this patriarchal culture to shift until we get to the point where our hair, body type, etc won't matter to other companies who determine our worth anyway.

I used to worry that my hair might be seen as a problem but so far I have never had any issues and there are other curly haired women. I occasionally see a guy who works for the same organization as me who is always in a grey suit (it's a formal environment), very well put together, and has long dread locks. A bit like the guy in the photo below except his hair is usually pulled back in a pony tail and he has a broader frame.

I like the look a lot. Anyone who has a problem with this is just close minded.